The Israeli lobby is at it again - this time its the infamous Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut putting Israels interest above the United States. Between them they will ensure Connecticut University will loose out from getting a free multi-million dollar campus in Dubai. The Dubai education council has a target to host more than 25 university branches - they will simply go elsewhere - there are plenty of takers - only the US will loose out - thanks once again to the Israeli lobby.

US University Snubs UAE Over Israel

IslamOnline.net7 May 2007

CAIRO — A major US university has shelved plans to open a satellite campus in the United Arab Emirates in protest of the Gulf state's boycott of Israel, drawing rebukes for mixing education with politics.

Connecticut legislator Andrew Fleischmann said many Israeli students and faculty members would not be able to benefit from the program if the UAE continued to deny them entry. But there are only eight Israeli students in the University of Connecticut, making up 0.03% of the 28,000 students on its six campuses. There is no Israeli national among the faculty members.

"We have put this project on the back burner," Peter Nichols, the provost of the University of Connecticut, told the Gulf News on Monday, May 7.

"We are not actively working on it now."

The university, founded in 1881, froze plans to establish a satellite campus in Dubai that would issue the same degrees awarded by the campus in the US.

It said the move was taken in protest of the UAE's boycott of Israel.

"If the (concerns) are not addressed, I will absolutely work to block such a partnership," said Connecticut legislator Andrew Fleischmann.

He vowed to press for obstructing the plans until the UAE "changed the way it deals with Israel."

Israeli nationals are not allowed into the UAE in line with the country's policy of non-normalization of ties with Israel until the Arab-Israeli conflict is resolved.

Fleischmann said many Israeli students and faculty members would not be able to benefit from the program if the UAE continued to deny them entry.

There are only eight Israeli students in the University of Connecticut, making up 0.03% of the 28,000 students on its six campuses.

There is no Israeli national among the faculty members.

In April, Arab leaders revived a plan offering Israel normal ties if it pulls out from land seized in the 1967 war, allows the creation of a Palestinian state and allows the return of Palestinian refugees.

Israel snubbed the plan as it did when it was first tabled in 2002.

Prof.Abdul Khaleq Abdullah

It's obvious that the ignorance (about Arabs) that prevails among the American public has crept into academics..

Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, professor of political science

Racism

The university decision has immediately provoked diatribe for mixing academic issues with politics.

"It's obvious that the ignorance (about Arabs) that prevails among the American public has crept into academics," said political science professor Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah.

His colleague Dr Ebtisam Al-Kitby also blasted the university's decision as double standards.

"If they're so concerned about human rights why don't we see them protesting Israel's human rights violations against the Palestinians," she asked.

Torture of thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails is an entrenched part of the system and there is a devised list of 14 ways to do that, two Israeli human rights groups concluded in a joint report released on Sunday, May 6.

"These measures are defined as torture under international law," said the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B'Tselem) and the HaMoked Centre for the Defense of the Individual.

A 6.8-billion-dollar deal reached between the US administration and Dubai Ports World to operate six major American ports was brought to a halt over fierce opposition from politicians and right-wing media outlets.

At the time, the Anti -Defamation League, a Jewish pressure group, campaigned to scrap the deal in protest of the UAE's economic boycott of Israel.

Despite that, said Dr Al-Kitby, Arab states continue to "send money to the United States".

US university shelves UAE campus plan

Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter Gulf News2007-05-07

Dubai: Emirati academicians and intellectuals have said they would rather do without a US university in Dubai than allow entry to Israeli citizens after the university put on hold plans to set up a campus here.

Peter Nichols, the provost of the University of Connecticut, said the University has discussed the matter with various interest groups including the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish pressure group which, at the time of the Dubai Ports World controversy last year, ran an active media and political campaign to "torpedo the deal" in protest of the UAE's economic boycott of Israel

The University of Connecticut confirmed to Gulf News that it has halted plans to open a campus in Dubai following concerns raised by pro-Israel politicians and interest groups who oppose the UAE;s policy of not permitting entry to Israelis.

"We have put this project on the backburner. We are not actively working on it now," said Peter Nichols, provost of the university.

Intellectuals here describeed the moves as anti-Arab, saying they reflect double standards of those who criticise the UAE.

"We have many prominent education institutions here, and don't need to give in to any conditions," said Dr Ebtisam Al Kitby, professor of political science at UAE University.

Political science professor Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah condemned the move, saying there was no place for politics in academic decisions.

"It's obvious that the ignorance (about Arabs) that prevails among the American public has crept into academics," he said.

Policy

Connecticut legislator Andrew Fleischmann told Gulf News he and his colleagues in the General Assembly would not allow such a deal to go through until the UAE "changed the way it deals with Israel" and improves the situation of foreign workers.

Prof.Ebtisam Al Kitby

We have many prominent education institutions here, and don't need to give in to any conditions... motivated by anti-Arab racism. If they're so concerned about human rights why don't we see them protesting Israel's human rights violations against the Palestinians?

Dr Ebtisam Al Kitby,professor of political scienceat UAE University

"If the (concerns) are not addressed, I will absolutely work to block such a partnership," he said. Israeli citizens are not allowed entry into the UAE, according to the Dubai Government's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing website, in line with the UAE's policy of non-normalisation of ties with the Jewish state until the Arab-Israeli conflict is resolved.

Dr Ebtisam Al Kitby, professor of political science at UAE University, said the moves demonstrated double standards on the part of the legislators, which were 'motivated by anti-Arab racism'.

"If they're so concerned about human rights why don't we see them protesting Israel's human rights violations against the Palestinians?" she said.

UConn is nonetheless 'very interested' in going ahead with the project, said Peter Nichols, Provost of UConn. "It's not impossible to resolve."

Fleischmann argued that "many" Israeli students and faculty members at UConn would be unable to benefit from such a programme if the UAE continued to deny them entry. Nichols agreed that it was "extremely important" that Israeli students had access to the Dubai campus of UConn, a public-funded university.

Israelis make up eight, or 0.03 per cent, of the 28,000-strong student body at the university. UConn has no Israeli faculty members.

Asked if Cuban nationals would be allowed easy access into the United States, Fleischmann admitted that it would be hard "but possible", saying the comparison was not fair.

Nichols said the University has discussed the matter with various interest groups including the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish pressure group which, at the time of the Dubai Ports World controversy last year, ran an active media and political campaign to "torpedo the deal" in protest of the UAE's economic boycott of Israel.

Despite that, argued Dr Ebtisam, Arab states continue to "send money to the United States".

Billions of dollars continue to be invested in the US hotel and real estate market by regional companies.

Representative Selim Noujaim, member of the Connecticut General Assembly and its Higher Education Committee, told Gulf News that the project "could come to a stalemate" if the legislators' demands were not met.

Source: http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/05/07/10123548.html

Proposed UConn Dubai campus raises a red flag

Judie Jacobson, The Jewish Ledger2007-02-15

STORRS-A proposal to establish a branch campus of the University of Connecticut in Dubai - the second largest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Gulf - has prompted some concern among a key state legislator, several faculty and Jewish community leaders.

In general, we are always concerned when institutions supported by taxpayer money - like a state university - negotiate with an Arab country that abides by what is, in this case, a secondary boycott of Israel.

Robert J. Fishman,executive director of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut (JFACT)

“Several UConn faculty members have discussed this issue with me. They are understandably concerned about such issues as human rights, workers’ rights, and environmental standards,” says Rep. Andrew M. Fleischmann, the West Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the General Assembly’s Education Committee.

In addition, says Fleischmann, "One person brought to my attention that individuals carrying Israeli passports are not permitted to enter Dubai. All of these are extremely serious concerns for me personally - and I believe they ought to concern everyone - even UConn officials who are excited about the prospect of being ‘given’ an additional campus.”

Fleischmann learned of the proposed campus, which would be fully funded by Dubai for the first 10 years, when he read about a December visit to Dubai made by 20 UConn administrators and faculty members - including Provost Peter L. Nicholls - in a local newspaper last month. Billed as a “site assessment visit,” the trip, according to Nicholls, was paid for in its entirety by the Dubai Education Council.

Though Fleischmann believes there was nothing improper about the trip and is comfortable with assurances from UConn officials that the proposal remains in an exploratory phase, he hopes to be kept apprised.

“As of today, I have yet to receive a briefing that responds to the concerns that I and others have raised,” he says.
The proposal also raised an eyebrow among the Jewish community’s political experts.

Noting that the Dubai website specifically bars “nationals of Israel” from entering the country - with quotes around the word “Israel” to denote that Dubai does not recognize the existence of the Jewish state - Robert J. Fishman, executive director of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut (JFACT) says, “In general, we are always concerned when institutions supported by taxpayer money - like a state university - negotiate with an Arab country that abides by what is, in this case, a secondary boycott of Israel. We want to make sure that there will be no discrimination - that all UConn personnel will be treated equally. That means that the contract with Dubai would have to be very carefully crafted.”

Wording of the contract is key, says Fishman.

“There are only two Arab countries that actually have relations with Israel - Egypt and Jordan. But the fact is that Israel and Dubai are doing business with one another. It is happening. So the question is, how is the contract going to be phrased so that you don’t have discrimination?”

“We’re planning to meet with JFACT and the ADL (Anti-Defamation League),” says UConn spokesperson Karen Grava. “This project is in a very preliminary stage and there will be many issues. We want to be aware of all them and investigate all them.”

Meanwhile, Connecticut is not the only state - nor is the U.S. the only country - on the Dubai Education Council’s radar screen.

The Arab country’s aggressive effort to modernize and expand its economy in recent years has given rise to a slew of academic collaborations with a long list of international partners, including Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, U.K. and more. The Dubai education council expects to host more than 25 university branches by the year 201.

As Dubai’s international focus increases, national Jewish organizations are quietly examining what those collaborations mean.

For example, notes Fishman, “Harvard medical school already has an agreement with Dubai. We don’t know what that agreement states, but we’re looking into it.”

In part, the local Jewish community’s concern is not without foundation. Some 20 years ago, UConn Dental School was inches away from signing an agreement with Saudi Arabia to open a dental school in Riyadh that would be staffed by UConn faculty, when Jewish communal leaders learned that the agreement expressly prohibited any “Zionist” from participating in the school. They raised objections and, while no one recalls just what happened next, the school never did open and does not exist today.

“That was blatant discrimination on the part of Saudi Arabia,” says Fishman. “We don’t want that to happen here. We’re raising concerns now, so that we don’t get to that point.”Source: http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2007/02/15/news/news10.txt

"They [Met Police] initially denied it, that they had sent officers to Israel to find out how to deal with suicide bombers. When I asked them would you have done the same thing after the Brixton riots and sent people to South Africa (under the apartheid regime) to find out how to deal with black people? They didn't have an answer. I asked the question 'do you have a shoot to kill policy?', they said no they didn't, over a number of years, and then it was finally, tragically, proven that they did have.. we finally cut our ties [ceased meetings with the Met Police in protest], I came out thinking of the police as insincere, hypocritical, having double standards."